I receive emails from a group of people within the zoo industry that care about bears: The Bear Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) of the AZA. I received an email this morning with some photos of pandas that were effected by the Sichuan earthquake that occurred just over two months ago. You can search the web to learn about the devastation and loss of life, but I thought I would share with you some photos of pandas doing wonderfully well.Read more
Posts tagged: #animals
Mistaken identity: coyote or red wolf?
In my first post about red wolves, I discussed the physical and genetic similarities that coyotes and red wolves share. I also showed pictures of both species as a comparison. These two animals are very difficult to tell apart, especially if it is from a distance while one runs through the grass or across the road. Although each species has their own specific body dimensions such as height, length of the legs and snout, and the degree of bushiness inRead more
my visit to Yellowstone National Park
I just returned from a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park, so I thought I’d share some pics of the cool wildlife we were able to see. What a beautiful part of our country! Click on the pics to see them better. Bison (also referred to as buffalo) This guy is shedding out. Bison are herbivores that can weigh in between 900 and 2100 pounds! They are massive. Mountain Bluebird (he and his mate were delivering bedding and bugs toRead more
Honeycomb to the bears
I mentioned that I would be offereing the bears honey taken from a bee hive at my house. Thursday morning we put out the honeycomb in the bear exhibit. The bears immediately started sniffing the air as if they knew of the goldmine they were about to find. Mimi and Virginia wandered the deadfall. Virginia made her way up the limb and found one of the pieces of honeycomb we put out, as seen in the photos below. She lickedRead more
Big Words of the Month: Alopecia and Depilation
Alopecia and depilation are big words that refer to hair loss. Depliation is the intentional removal of hair using mechanical or chemical means, while alopecia refers to hair loss due to physiological processes. During the spring and summer there is a lot of hair loss going on at the museum . Many wild animals shed out of a winter coat into a sleeker, cooler summer coat. Our red wolves are transitioning from thick coat to a thin coat and canRead more
Taking the bad with the good
Everyone is different when it comes to choosing a career that best fits their interests and desires. A good place to start when it comes to deciding if a job is right for you is to look at what the job really entails. If you are thinking about being an animal keeper, the first thing you should know is that your days would not consist of just playing with animals. In fact, if you would rather not clean, get dirty,Read more